Padres Announce Starting Pitchers for Crucial Series vs Red-Hot Cubs

The San Diego Padres are heading to Chicago for a three-game series with the Cubs.

The Padres (43-39) are coming off a series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning the first game but losing the next two.

Before that, the Padres swept the Atlanta Braves, and now will have to face another National League powerhouse in the Cubs.

Chicago is 46-38, coming off a series win against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs have won six of their last seven games and eight of their last 10 overall.

The Padres and Cubs met at Petco Park in April, with Chicago taking two of three games.

Padres vs Cubs Pitching Probables

Monday, June 29: RHP Griffin Canning vs. LHP Shota Imanaga

Canning is scheduled to start Monday's series opener, and it appears this one will be an actual start and not behind an opener.

Canning's last two outings have come behind openers, and after pitching well the first time, he had a nightmare performance last week against the Atlanta Braves, recording just two outs while allowing four runs.

Overall, Canning is 1-5 with a 7.38 ERA across 42.2 innings this season. His roster spot could be in jeopardy if he doesn't turn things around quickly.

As for Imanaga, he's 5-6 with a 4.40 ERA across 92 innings this season. He's struggled as of late, though, allowing four or more runs in five of his last seven outings.

Tuesday, June 30: LHP JP Sears vs. LHP Matthew Boyd

Sears will make his second start of the season for the Padres on Tuesday.

He earned a surprise start last week when Lucas Giolito went on the injured list, and did as well as anyone could have expected, pitching 5.2 innings and allowing two run with five strikeouts.

If Sears puts together another strong outing this week, he could earn a spot in the rotation moving forward.

“The way he threw the ball today is what he’s capable of doing in the big leagues and what he has shown he did in the big leagues before we traded for him,” manager Craig Stammen said of Sears after his start. “Exciting that he came up. We needed him big. He stepped up to the plate and just did an amazing job for us.”

As for Boyd, he has a 5.02 ERA across 28.2 innings this season with 35 strikeouts to 10 walks.

He missed nearly two months before returning this past week, pitching 4.2 shutout innings against the New York Mets.

Boyd faced the Padres in late April, allowing five runs on eight hits over four innings of work.

Wednesday, July 1: RHP Walker Buehler vs. RHP Colin Rea

Buehler will take the ball in the series finale looking to continue his run of dominance.

After pitching 5.1 innings of one-run ball in his most recent start against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Buehler has now allowed just one run in each of his last five starts, sporting a 1.71 ERA during that time.

Buehler faced the Cubs in the April series, allowing two runs over 4.2 innings

As of late, he's quietly turned into the Padres' best pitcher, and will look to keep that going on Wednesday.

As for Rea, he has a 4.80 ERA across 84.1 innings this season. He's been better in his last two starts, though, allowing just one run over 10.1 innings in that time.

How to Watch Padres vs Cubs June 29-July 1

First pitch for Monday's series opener is 5:05 p.m. PT/8:05 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.

First pitch for Tuesday's game is 5:05 p.m. PT/8:05 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.

First pitch for Wednesday's series finale is 11:20 a.m. PT/2:20 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on Padres.TV and in the MLB app.

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